Privacy Policy | PistonTraders

01 · Controller

Who we are

PistonTraders is an independent UK used car search engine. For the personal information described in this policy, the data controller is [LIBLOGIC LTD], company number [12291565], whose registered office is [Corby Business Centre, Eismann Way, Corby, England, NN17 5ZB ] ("PistonTraders", "we", "us" or "our").

You can contact us about privacy or data protection at [admin@pistontraders.co.uk].

02 · Scope

What this policy covers

This policy applies when you use the PistonTraders website, search tools, dealer directory, dealer-facing features, accounts, contact forms, application programming interfaces ("APIs") and related services (together, the "Service").

PistonTraders links to dealer and other third-party websites. Those organisations are responsible for their own privacy practices. When you follow a link away from PistonTraders, you should read the privacy information provided by the relevant third party.

03 · Personal information

Information we may collect

The information we collect depends on how you use the Service. It may include the following categories:

Account and identity information Name, username or account identifier, dealership or organisation, role and login-related information.
Contact information Email address, telephone number, business address and other details you provide when contacting us.
Dealer application information Dealership name, website, business contact details and information submitted when asking to be indexed or to access dealer features.
Search and usage information Search terms, filters, pages viewed, links clicked, referring pages, dates and times of activity and interactions with features.
Technical information IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, user agent, approximate location derived from an IP address and server/security logs.
API information API account or key identifiers, request parameters, request timestamps, IP addresses, usage volumes, response codes and rate-limit or security events.
Communications Messages, support requests, complaints, correction requests and other correspondence you send to us.
Cookie and analytics information Cookie identifiers, consent choices and analytics or measurement data where those technologies are used.
Publicly available dealer information Business names, business contact details and, in some cases, the names or professional contact details of individuals publicly presented as dealer contacts.

Please do not send us special category information, criminal offence data or other highly sensitive personal information unless we specifically ask for it and there is a lawful reason for us to process it.

04 · Sources

Where personal information comes from

We may obtain personal information:

directly from you when you create an account, contact us, submit a dealer request or use the Service;
automatically from your browser, device, server requests, cookies or similar technologies;
from the organisation or dealership you work for;
from publicly accessible dealer websites and other public business sources used to maintain our dealer and vehicle index;
from service providers that help us operate, secure or measure the Service; and
from lawful third-party data sources or partners where appropriate.

Where we obtain personal information from a source other than you, we use it only where we have a lawful basis and where the use is compatible with applicable data protection law.

05 · Purposes & lawful bases

How and why we use personal information

We must have a lawful basis for each purpose for which we process personal information. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on contract, legitimate interests, consent or legal obligation.

Provide the Service To operate search, accounts, dealer tools and APIs. We rely on performance of a contract where the processing is necessary to provide an account or service you requested, and on our legitimate interests in operating a useful search and discovery service for general website functionality.

Respond to enquiries To answer questions, dealer applications, support requests, complaints and correction requests. We rely on steps taken at your request before entering a contract where relevant, or our legitimate interests in communicating with users and managing the Service.

Maintain dealer and vehicle indexing To identify eligible dealers, organise publicly available stock information, maintain source links and investigate data-quality issues. We rely on our legitimate interests in operating an independent used car search index and providing accurate, traceable search results.

Security and abuse prevention To authenticate users, protect accounts and infrastructure, prevent fraud or misuse, enforce rate limits and investigate security incidents. We rely on our legitimate interests in protecting the Service and users, and on legal obligations where applicable.

Improve and measure the Service To understand performance, diagnose errors and improve features. We rely on legitimate interests for strictly necessary operational measurement and, where consent is required for cookies or similar technologies, on your consent.

Service communications To send important account, security, technical or administrative messages. We rely on contract or our legitimate interests in administering the Service.

Marketing To send promotional communications only where permitted by law. Depending on the context, we may rely on consent or another lawful basis available to us. You can opt out of direct marketing at any time.

Legal and regulatory matters To comply with legal duties, respond to lawful requests, establish or defend legal claims, and keep records required by law. We rely on legal obligation and, where appropriate, legitimate interests.

Our legitimate interests. Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests include operating and improving an independent used car search service, maintaining data quality, communicating with users and dealers, securing our systems, preventing abuse and supporting sustainable business operations. We consider the impact on individuals before relying on this basis.

06 · Public business information

Dealer websites and publicly available data

PistonTraders indexes vehicle stock and related dealer information from public dealer websites and other eligible sources. Most of this information relates to businesses and vehicles rather than identifiable individuals.

However, a dealer website may publish a person's name, professional email address, telephone number or job title. Where this amounts to personal information, we may process it for the limited purposes of identifying the dealership, maintaining source information, communicating about the index and handling corrections or removal requests.

We rely on legitimate interests for this processing. Individuals may contact us if they believe their personal information has been included incorrectly or if they wish to object to our use of their personal information. We will consider requests in accordance with applicable law.

07 · Cookies & measurement

Cookies, analytics and similar technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies to keep the Service secure, remember preferences, maintain sessions, measure usage and understand how the Service performs.

Technologies that are strictly necessary for the operation or security of the Service may be used without optional consent where the law permits. Where consent is required for analytics, advertising or other non-essential technologies, we will ask for your choice before using them and you can change that choice through our cookie controls.

Our current analytics and measurement providers are: [LIST ANALYTICS / MEASUREMENT PROVIDERS ACTUALLY USED, OR STATE "NONE"].

For more detail about specific cookies, their purposes and lifetimes, see our Cookie Policy.

08 · Recipients

Who we may share personal information with

We may disclose personal information to the following categories of recipient where necessary:

hosting, cloud infrastructure, database and content-delivery providers;
email, communications, customer-support and authentication providers;
analytics, monitoring, logging and security providers;
professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants and insurers;
regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or public authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law;
a buyer, investor, lender or adviser in connection with a genuine business reorganisation, financing, merger or sale, subject to appropriate safeguards; and
other parties where you direct us to share information or give valid consent.

We do not sell personal information to advertisers.

A click from PistonTraders to a dealer's website takes you to a separate service. We do not automatically send a dealer information you entered elsewhere on PistonTraders unless the relevant feature clearly tells you that your information will be sent.

09 · International transfers

Where your information may be processed

Some of our service providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom. Where this involves a restricted international transfer, we will use a lawful transfer mechanism and any safeguards required by applicable UK data protection law.

Depending on the destination and provider, this may include UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual safeguards together with any required assessment of the transfer.

10 · Retention

How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to provide the Service, maintain security, meet legal or accounting requirements and establish or defend legal claims.

We may retain limited information for longer where required by law, where needed to resolve a dispute or where it has been securely anonymised so that it no longer identifies an individual.

11 · Security

How we protect personal information

We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure. Measures may include access controls, authentication, logging, encryption where appropriate, backups, software updates and monitoring for suspicious activity.

No online service can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If you have an account, you should use a strong password, protect your login credentials and tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.

12 · Your choices

Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and subject to legal conditions or exemptions, you may have rights to:

ask for access to personal information we hold about you;
ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information;
ask us to erase personal information in certain circumstances;
ask us to restrict our use of personal information in certain circumstances;
object to processing based on legitimate interests;
object at any time to the use of personal information for direct marketing;
receive certain information you provided to us in a portable format where the right applies;
withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent, without affecting earlier lawful processing; and
raise concerns about certain solely automated decisions where applicable.

To exercise a right, contact [admin@pistontraders.co.uk]. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request. Some rights are not absolute and may not apply in every situation.

13 · Automation

Automated processing and search ranking

PistonTraders may use automated systems to index, classify, deduplicate, organise or rank vehicle and dealer data and to detect technical abuse or unusual API activity.

We do not currently use personal information to make decisions about individuals based solely on automated processing that produce legal effects or similarly significant effects on them.

If this changes, we will update this policy and provide any additional information required by law.

14 · Children

Children's information

The Service is designed as a vehicle search and dealer information service and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly ask children to create dealer accounts or provide personal information for dealer or API services.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to us inappropriately, please contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

15 · Updates

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this policy when our Service, technology, providers or legal obligations change. The current version will be published on this page and identified by the "Last updated" date.

Where a change materially affects how we use personal information and it is appropriate to do so, we may provide additional notice through the Service, by email or by another suitable method.

16 · Contact & complaints

How to contact us

For privacy questions, requests or complaints, contact:

PistonTraders
Operated by [LIBLOGIC LTD]
Privacy email: [admin@pistontraders.co.uk]
Registered office: [Corby Business Centre, Eismann Way, Corby, England, NN17 5ZB ]

We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern directly. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled. You can find current contact and complaint information on the ICO website.

Privacy Policy.